Deeper look into a successful future

Hello, I am Madison Amike, a grade nine student attending Alexander Mckenzie. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to attend the Illuminate x North York Regional Conference. During the conference I was able to obtain insight about future career options, leadership, lifelong learning and much more. This blog aims to highlight what I’ve learnt about executive thinking, collaboration and entrepreneurship.

“The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis.” - Brian Tracy

Keynote Speaker: Dan Kiernan

I had the pleasure of listening to Dan Kiernan, his presentation taught me how to formally and professionally introduce myself in an interview setting. His presentation further discussed how you should not choose your career path based on what you are passionate about, as your passion may change. Instead, you should choose your career path by reflecting, discovering, and activating.

Workshop

Mr. Kiernan put us in breakout rooms where we were able to apply our knowledge of how to confidently introduce ourselves. The workshop showed me that I am capable of formatting an introduction so that it flowed naturally and was clear, concise, and to the point. This workshop was very beneficial, and helped me develop the necessary skills to make an impressive introduction.

Keynote Speaker: Swish Goswami

The other keynote speaker was Swish Goswami. Swish discussed entrepreneurship and his experience being an entrepreneur. He walked us through his career path, his purpose for dropping out of college, and the concerns others had for him when following his path as an entrepreneur. He made me understand that grades aren't everything, and to set short short term goals rather than longer. He also talked about the importance of building connections with people in your interested career path. He furthered explained how you can do that through interviewing people as many enjoy talking about themselves.

Case Study

The case study showed me the importance of time management, and collaboration. Even though it was stressful as it was my first time presenting a case study, it was a great experience that will allow me to improve in the future. The challenge provided me with more insight about the flaws in our curriculum, and explained why some are discouraged to become lifelong longer. Other’s presentations showed me multiple courses of actions that can be taken to address this issue.

Entrepreneurship and Leadership Know no Boundaries.

There are some ways that I consider myself an entrepreneur as I enjoy taking charge, and I am very organized. So if I were to only have $5 in my pocket I would save it and slowly build up more money by using the materials and ingredients that I already have, and I'd start to build consumers and slowly and surely I would accumulate more money and clients. I would then use my organization skills to manage money and I’d use my leadership skill to properly manage my future employees.

Closing Blog Content

This conference was a wonderful opportunity and I am looking forward to next year’s conference so I can present another case study where I would be able to demonstrate my growth and improvement. Overall, I’ve learnt a lot from this conference and if I had to give you one piece of advice ,it would be that a good leader is able to take charge but a great one is able to listen and efficiently communicate with their team .